......I have had the bike hooked to this charger up until April, just prior to going on our first ride.
The battery by itself is reading: 12.1 to 12.7 volts. With the engine running, at both idle and 2,000+ rpm's, and hot: 13.7 to 14.2/3 volts. Also, the bike has been starting as advertised- no problem.
Any thoughts of how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you:
Steven Q. Bethke or
StevenQ
Hey Steven, was the 12.1 volts reading you got after the Spyder had been standing without the charger connected/engine running for
at least a couple of hours?? :dontknow:
12.1 volts on a 'resting battery' (one that's been off the charger/not running for some hours) suggests that the battery is pretty flat & probably
quite tired if not dying/dead already!! Come to that, a reading of 12.7 volts immediately after disconnecting from a charger that's been connected for a while/over-night isn't all that great either.... it
should be up over 13 volts if the battery &/or charger is in good condition!! :shocked: . But at least your 'engine running' volts suggest the alternator is doing its thing properly!
Still, from all the info you've already given, ie, those voltage readings, the '
2017 RT' bit (suggesting the battery's a few years old) and the '
connected to the Optima battery charger ever since Jan 2021', it all adds up to suggest that even given the lack of a proper load test yet, your battery is pretty tired if not dying!
Besides all that, leaving a battery connected to
anything that's not a 'smart charger' or a proper 'battery tender', ie, charging devices with a charge/rest/discharge/recharge cycle (maybe even a 'de-sulphation' period too!) isn't really a great idea at the best of times; and leaving a battery connected to
any charging device, even a smart charger/battery tender etc
ALL the time isn't such a great idea either, not unless you're putting it into storage for a few months or more!! :lecturef_smilie: . Batteries work & last best if they are
used & then re-charged properly,
then let rest for a while (without charging/tending) before being used again - altho storage connected to a smart charger/tender is still the only real option available for 'long term storage', but you should try to take it off the charger/tender for at least a few hours before putting it to use again..... that's partly why smart chargers/battery tenders have that essential 'rest' period in their cycle! Leaving the battery connected
ALL the time can hide a tired &/or dying battery by giving it a 'surface charge' that will let you start it sorta OK immediately upon disconnection from said charger (due to that 'artificially propped up' charge level) but then you might find that if you stop for anything more than a short while at any stage
after that 'propped up' start, the battery just might not be up to starting your vehicle's engine again!! :shocked: To avoid this, if you aren't putting it into long term storage, then you should really let your battery 'rest' for a while after each run/proper charge
and for a while before you want to use it again; or if you are riding once a week or fortnight, then just leave it off the charger/tender entirely between runs if you can, or at least for a few hours
before each use/run. By doing this, you will be leaving your 'fully charged' battery to rest for a while before each run/usage so that it should last longer
and let you know that if it's strong enough to start your Spyder's engine at home, cos if it is able to do that after a non-charged rest at home, then it should also be strong enough to start it once you try to restart again after a stopped/non charged rest break once you are away from home & the artificial support provided by that charger/tender isn't there to top it up. :thumbup:
So even if it was/is the DPS power drain or something/anything else that dragged/is dragging the battery voltage down low enough to result in that code you got, it's still really only trying to tell you that without external charger support, the battery isn't up to its task & is on its way out, so you should probably get the battery load tested
and replaced if there's
ANY indication that it's not fully up to par!! Then once you have a fully charged/new battery, even if you do feel you need to hook it up to a charger/tender between rides or for long term storage,
try to
disconnect it at least a couple of hours before you want to start up & ride.... Good Luck! :cheers:
